DUCKS have abandoned their popular pond for a few days so it can be restored to its former glory.

DUCKS have abandoned their popular pond for a few days so it can be restored to its former glory.

Huge amounts of silt are being removed from Gulpher pond at Felixstowe in order to deepen and improve it.

The pond in Gulpher Road has been used by the community for more than 200 years as a watering hole for farm horses, while its ducks and moorhens have been enjoyed by generations of children.

Now the Felixstowe Society is organising a clean up because silt is starting to build up and threatening to drive away its wildlife.

The conservation group is being helped by Felixstowe engineering firm TWS Ltd, whose owners read about the plight of the pond in The Evening Star, and farmer John Adams, who owns the land on which the pond sits.

Felixstowe Society conservation worker Alan Muchal said: “When we first restored the pond in 1988 it had got neglected and completely dried out at times of the year.

“The ducks had vanished and people had begun to dump rubbish in it.

“Due to a lot of voluntary effort and local fundraising it proved possible to restore it to the much loved state residents remembered from earlier years.

“Although the pond still looks attractive, and has not yet dried out, measurements of water depth taken by the society gave cause for concern. Professional advice was that we should act to dredge it again before silt build-up became a major problem once more.”

TWS Ltd are doing the dredging free of charge, working in close co-operation with the landowner P Adams & Sons (Farms) Ltd, who are also providing labour and equipment without charge.

Mr Muchal said: “We are extremely grateful to Chris Hockley of TWS and to John Adams for helping us out in this way.

“Gulpher Pond is a much valued and visited local amenity and it would not have been possible to undertake this work at the present time without their assistance. We are also grateful to Adams Farms for allowing continued public access to the pond.”

In the early 1900s Tommy Robinson had the job of wading in on a regular basis to dig out the silt. Since its 1988 restoration it has become home to a considerable number of ducks, and the society holds regular work parties to maintain the site.

WEBLINK: www.twsfelixstowe.co.uk